Here we are again for another segment on tactics. Today we are going to focus on the movement aspects of the Charge and Fight phases, so I won't be going through all of the steps in each phase. There are some really great tips and tricks you can pull off against an unsuspecting opponent, but before we get into those, lets start off with some basics and move on from there.
You can only declare a charge against a unit that is within 12" of the charging unit. Even if the charging unit has an ability that allows it to charge further than 12", like the Eversor assassin who can charge 3D6", you may only declare a charge if the target is within 12". You can move more than 12" if you roll well, but you won't be able to charge anything more than the 12".
Other than keeping unit coherency, the only other restriction is that at least one model from the charging unit must end it's charge move within 1" of an enemy model. This means that you can use a charge move as an additional movement phase sometimes moving much farther than your unit could in the movement phase. You can use this extra move to deny or capture objectives, move out of range of units who would potentially be in range to shoot you next turn, or even move into cover.
Keep in mind that you may want to declare multiple units as targets simply to keep your options open, especially if the enemy units don't have a strong Overwatch or your unit is particularly durable. This will allow you to get into combat with something if you don't happen to roll high enough to engage your prime targets.
The Berzerkers don't really want to charge the Cultists, they want to charge the Vindicator, but they declare the Cultists as a target as well in case they flub their charge roll. As you can see they only roll a 4, so won't be able to reach the Vindicator, but will still get some movement and be able to take out the Cultists. If they rolled high enough, they could ignore the cultists and charge right around them into the Vindicator.
Once you have completed all your Charge moves we move into the Fight phase, which starts off with choosing a unit to fight with and make another move called Pile In. This is a 3" move that is generally used to maximise contact with the enemy unit...but it doesn't have to be. The one restriction that you have with the Pile In move is that you have to end closer to the closest enemy model. So if you are 1" away from the closest enemy model, you can move up to 3" in any direction as long as you are at least .9" away from that enemy model when you are done moving. Your unit then attacks, after which it can make a Consolidation move which is done exactly like a Pile In move. This brings me to a very important Pro Tip, during your charge move you DO NOT necessarily want to put your models in base to base contact. If you are in base to base contact you cannot get any closer and thus you cannot make a Pile In or Consolidation move, this is stated in the FAQ. This is also good to remember for enemy models if you don't want them to be able to Pile In or Consolidate.
Now those Berzerkers can use their Pile In move to engage the Vindicator they didn't reach, and because you declared a charge against it you can allocate attacks against it. Remember that your Pile In move must end closer to the closest enemy model, so you will have to use your Charge move accordingly.
The Bezerkers move far out to the left to make sure that the Vindicator is the closest model so they can make their Pile In move towards it. Berzerkers are special in that they get to Fight twice, in this case they will easily wipe the Cultists and Consolidate then Pile In into the Vindicator to get a full round of attacks against it with their second fight.
If you have 2 units that have charged into combat, and your first unit to attack kills the enemy unit, your second unit can still activate. This is only possible if the unit charged that turn, but it allows them to Pile In and Consolidate, basically giving them an additional 6" of movement. Keep in mind that this additional movement must get them closer to the closest enemy model, even if it's a long ways away. Units that can activate twice can Pile In and Consolidate twice.
As I mentioned earlier, you can use your charge move like an additional move as long as one model ends within 1" of an enemy model. This means that you can use the Charge move to get close to an enemy model that you want to engage but don't want to receive overwatch from. You can then use your Pile In move to engage that second unit, and while you won't be able to direct attacks against it (since you didn't declare it as a target of the charge) you will prevent it from being able to shoot during your opponent's turn as it will be stuck in combat or forced to Fall Back. This is ideal to use against units that can put out a ridiculous amount of fire power but can't punch worth a damn like Obliterators, Kastellan Robots, and most tanks.
To piggy pack off of that move, you can use the Pile In move to engage a unit and surround it preventing it from Falling Back and keeping you safe from your opponent's shooting phase. Since you did not declare it as a target in your charge phase, you can't attack it and kill it, ensuring that you will be "stuck in". Another Pro Tip, you need at least 3 models in order to trap an enemy model from Falling Back.
These Berzerkers didn't declare the Warpsmith as a target of the charge, so they won't be able to direct attacks against him in their turn, but because they surrounded him he won't be able to fall back keeping the Berzerkers safe during the enemy shooting phase. Also, if your opponent doesn't do something, the Berzerkers will likely kill the Warpsmith in his assault phase freeing them up to act normally during their next turn.
Piggy Backing yet again on that idea, you can use poorly placed units as a sling shot to get into grips of a juicier target. The cultists below are very poorly placed as the Berzerkers only need a charge of 7" in order to make it to the Vindicator which is 13" away. I've left the original squad in place to show just how far the one Berzerker moved.
His buddies would have followed up wiping out the cultists and joined him to surround the Vindicator. Again, because they could not declare it as a target of their charge, they won't be able to actually attack it, but it won't be shooting at them.
Your enemy gets to Pile In too, but there are ways to divert their units movements. For example, if you move a unit like a Heldrake to one side of an enemy unit, then charge the other side, the enemy models that are closer to the Heldrake won't be able to Pile In toward your charging unit. This can be used to pin down something like a power fist or thunder hammer you don't want getting close enough to attack your model. This actually works better with a "real" flier because that power fist could actually Pile In to the Heldrake and attack it, but I don't have a "real" flier, so you'll have to imagine that one.
As you can see, the models on the left side of the red stick, which happen to be a power fist and a couple bubonic axes, are closer to the Heldrake and will not be able to Pile In and allocate attacks into the Chaos Marines charging in from the right.
Units with the FLY keyword can move directly over top of enemy models, making it easier to trap them in combat and preventing them from Falling Back, or to engage units that are incorrectly "bubble wrapped". You can check out my "Bubble Wrap" tactics post here.
This is not the only trick that FLY units can pull off though, as they ignore vertical distance when moving and charging. This means that they can reach the top levels of a terrain piece with minimal movement required. If you have a unit of Raptors right next to the wall of a ruin, you only need a minimal charge in order to reach the units on the very top level(assuming there is room for you to put your model).
This works in reverse too. If you have a unit of Raptors on the top level of a ruin, like if you brought them in from reserves there, and they are more than 9" from the enemy (when measured directly from base to base) who is right next to the wall of the ruin, you will only need a short charge distance in order to successfully charge them. That's on page 4 on the right column in the Rulebook FAQ. This one works particularly well for Custodes Captains on those fancy Jet Bikes of theirs or a Blood Angels SLAMguinius Captain.
That's all I have for now. Take these and try them out on those unsuspecting friends of yours. If you have any comments, or any tips that I may have missed, please leave me a comment or shoot me an email, I can update this post and add them in and even give you credit if you want.
Until next time, keep them dice rollin.
